Board approves $362,875 Musco LED stadium lighting upgrade with 25-year warranty

The South Fayette School District board approved a $362,875 contract with Musco Lighting to replace the stadium’s existing metal-halide fixtures with LED fixtures that include color-changing “show” capabilities and a 25-year Musco warranty.

Steve Timmons, the district’s facilities director, presented the proposal and described technical and financial advantages of LED fixtures. “One of the most important things that I want to kind of reiterate about going to LED lights is the lights are directed right onto the field. So there will be no glare effect with LED lighting,” Timmons said. He added the system will retain the current manual on/off switch at field level while adding electronic control from the announcer’s booth and the ability to program lighting effects from a laptop.

Timmons said the existing Musco warranty expired in June; the new package includes a 25-year warranty covering fixtures, show-lighting hardware and the computer system, and Musco estimated roughly $92,566 in energy and maintenance cost savings over 25 years (about $3,700 per year). He said some poles will remain in place and that Musco will replace fixtures and run new electrical lines to new electrical boxes; the district will still own and be responsible for poles that are not being replaced.

Business-office staff and the superintendent recommended board approval and said the district’s bond structure offers flexibility to finance the project with construction-bond proceeds. The business manager and district finance staff (Jamie Doyle and Anthony Ditka, cited in the meeting) advised using bond financing so local cash reserves remain available for other needs. The board approved the business office recommendation as part of its consent/business agenda; the motion to approve items including the stadium lighting project was moved by Jen (board member) and seconded by Rebecca (board member) and passed on a voice vote.

Timmons also told board members the district currently has several burned-out bulbs (6–8 depending on the last inspection), and that replacement bulbs for the older metal-halide fixtures remain available but would be a recurring maintenance cost now that the warranty has expired. He said he had shared project materials with township staff (Gary Hartz) to confirm local compliance; Hartz did not anticipate permitting issues, Timmons said.

The board did not request a separate roll-call vote for the lighting contract beyond the consent motion recorded in the meeting minutes. District staff will proceed with contract execution and schedule work in coordination with athletic schedules and construction-bond accounting.